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\nA Nelson County man was charged with criminal conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in connection with the death of Crystal Rogers.<\/p>\n
\nA Nelson County man was charged with criminal conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in connection with the death of Crystal Rogers.<\/p>\n
Joseph L. Lawson, 32, pleaded not guilty Thursday in Nelson Circuit Court and his bond was set at $500,000 cash.<\/p>\n
The indictment is the first in the case involving her murder. Rogers disappeared in 2015, and her body was never found. <\/p>\n
The indictment, which does not mention Rogers by name, says the crime was committed in Nelson County on July 3 and\/or July 4, 2015, when Lawson “agreed to aid one or more persons in the planning or commission of the crime or an attempt or solicitation to commit the crime when he, and\/or, a co-conspirator intentionally caused the death of another.”<\/p>\n
On July 5, 2015, Crystal Rogers was reported missing by her mother. <\/p>\n
Lawson is not charged with Rogers’ murder, but prosecutors instead charged him with the lesser offense of conspiracy, meaning they believe he was involved in some fashion with whoever killed Rogers. <\/p>\n
The maximum sentence for the conspiracy charge is 10-20 years in prison. <\/p>\n
In addition, the indictment charges Lawson with complicity to tampering with physical evidence when he “destroyed, mutilates, concealed, removed or alters physical evidence.” The maximum penalty for that charge is one to five years in prison. <\/p>\n
Attorney Kevin Coleman, who represents Lawson, acknowledged his client’s case is in relation to the death of Rogers but declined to comment further.<\/p>\n
Special Assistant to the Attorney General Shane Young, who is prosecuting the case, declined to comment. Young is the Hardin County Commonwealth’s Attorney. <\/p>\n
Lawson was indicted on the conspiracy charge July 24, but the case was sealed, according to court records. He was first scheduled to be arraigned in August but was in the hospital, according to the records. He was still in the hospital during his arraignment Thursday. <\/p>\n
He was charged in a sealed indictment for tampering June 21. His bond in the tampering case is $50,000 cash. <\/p>\n
Court files show a Kentucky State Police detective and an FBI agent as complaining witnesses in Lawson’s case. Lawson is scheduled to be back in court in front of Nelson Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms III on October 26.
\nSource: WDRB<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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